Green Cove Springs, Florida
| Green Cove Springs, Florida | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| City of Green Cove Springs | |
Images from top, left to right: Clay County Courthouse, the springs, Clay County Courthouse, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Clay Theatre, Clay County Historical Museum
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 Location in Clay County and the state of Florida |
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| Coordinates: 29°59′34″N 81°41′2″W / 29.99278°N 81.68389°WCoordinates: 29°59′34″N 81°41′2″W / 29.99278°N 81.68389°W | |
| Country |  United States of America |
| State |
 Florida
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| County |
 Clay
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| Government | |
| • Type | City Manager type government with 5 at-large city councilmen |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.9 sq mi (25.6 km2) |
| • Land | 7.4 sq mi (19.1 km2) |
| • Water | 2.5 sq mi (6.5 km2) |
| Elevation | 16 ft (5 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 6,908 |
| • Density | 937/sq mi (361.7/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 32043 |
| Area code(s) | 904 |
| FIPS code | 12-27400 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0283381 |
| Website | www |
Green Cove Springs is a hydrological spring and a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County.
The city is named after the portion of the St. Johns River upon which the city is built. The river bends here, and the area is sheltered by trees that are perennially green.
The area was first inhabited over 7,000 years ago by natives drawn by the warm mineral spring. The spring, locally known as the "Original Fountain of Youth", attracted guests in the 19th century; there were more than a dozen hotels near the spring. Today the sulfur-scented spring water feeds an adjacent public swimming pool before flowing the short distance to the St. Johns River. The Green Cove Springs area was first developed by George E. Clarke in 1816 when he was provided land, under a Spanish land grant, to build a sawmill. Green Cove Springs was established in 1854 as White Sulfur Springs. Renamed in 1866, it became the Clay County seat in 1871.
Agriculture and tourism were two of the primary economic ventures until the end of the century, when Henry Flagler's railroad began taking tourists further south into Florida. In 1895, the Great Freeze destroyed the area's citrus crops, and tourism all but ended. The 1920s saw renewed development, with automobile traffic bringing in tourists again. The Great Depression of the 1930s saw the end of growth again for the city.
The period immediately before and during World War II again brought new growth to Green Cove Springs. On September 11, 1940, the U.S. Navy opened Naval Air Station Lee Field in honor of Ensign Bejamin Lee who had lost his life in a crash at Killinghome, England, during World War I. In August 1943, the facility was renamed Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs and consisted of four 5,000-foot (1,500 m) asphalt runways. After the war, NAS Green Cove Springs was downgraded in status to a Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) as part of the greater NAS Jacksonville complex. A total of 13 piers were constructed along the west bank of the St. Johns River adjacent to NAAS Green Cove Springs to house a U.S. Navy "Mothball Fleet" of some 500 vessels, primarily destroyers, destroyer escorts and fleet auxiliaries. In 1960, the Navy decommissioned NAAS Green Cove Springs and the pier facility. Some of the mothballed vessels were transferred to foreign navies, while others were relocated to other Reserve Fleet locations.
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Wikipedia